Holiday Flights Seem Crazy Cheap Right Now

Traveler editor and resident office Brit Lale Arikoglu went to book her flights back to London for the December holidays last week, only to find them more than $300 lower than what she usually pays. When she piped up, other editors in the office said they had found the same thing—that not only were prices fluctuating wildly (dropping $200 one day and rising back the next), they were a steal compared to the usual +$1,000 Christmas flights to Europe. So we asked price tracking app Hopper to bring the receipts. Were we going crazy staring at Google Flights every day or were flights really cheap?

In short, flights between December 21 and January 2 are relatively cheap compared to last year, and even last month. Granted, the key word is "relatively," since flights to cities like London and Paris are averaging $713 and $781 round-trip, respectively. But that London fare is down 19 percent from just four weeks ago, and a whopping 27 percent down from the same time last year, Hopper reports. Flights to Paris are down 21 percent from last year, too. Overall, U.S. flights for Christmas and New Year's holidays are averaging $307 round-trip, a 19 percent drop from 2017's average.

Overall, U.S. flights for Christmas and New Year's holidays are averaging $307 round-trip, a 19 percent drop from 2017's average.

But as we've reported before, those deals won't be around for long. Last year, according to Hopper, the best time to buy tickets was 63 days ahead of Christmas, which is, well, right now. October 15 and 16 is the sweet spot , but if you aren't ready to book your flights just yet, be sure to grab a seat before Halloween, when prices start spiking up. Once October's over, flights will slowly rise, with the real price jump coming 20 days out from Christmas, just after Thanksgiving. Christmas decorations are already out at Target, so give yourself an early holiday present in the form of a flight deal ASAP.